JP2003027244A - Vacuum treatment device, and vacuum treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve vacuum treatment characteristic, to perform the vacuum treatment of a work, in particular, a work of a large area in a very uniform manner, and to reduce the vacuum treatment cost. SOLUTION: A vacuum treatment device 300 comprises a base body supporter 306 for installing a cylindrical base body 301 in a reaction vessel 302, a gas pipe 303 for introducing a raw gas in the reaction vessel 302, and an exhaust pipe 307 for exhausting the reaction vessel 302. The vacuum treatment device 300 further comprises a high-frequency power introducing means comprising a plurality of high-frequency power sources 308 and 317 for feeding the high-frequency power of the frequencies different from each other, a plurality of high-frequency electrodes 304 for introducing the high-frequency power fed from the high-frequency power sources 308 and 317 in a reaction space of the vessel 302, and a power branching plate 313 in which the high-frequency power respectively fed from the high-frequency power sources 308 and 317 is introduced in a synthesized manner, and the synthesized high-frequency power is respectively distributed. The power branching plate 313 is formed in a flat plate-like shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor device,
The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus and a vacuum processing method using high frequency power, which are used for forming a deposited film or etching in an electrophotographic photoconductor, an image input line sensor, a photographing device, a photovoltaic device, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vacuum processing method for forming a semiconductor device, an electrophotographic photosensitive member, an image input line sensor, a photographing device, a photovoltaic device, etc., a plasma CVD method, an ion plating method, A vacuum processing method using plasma generated by high-frequency power such as a plasma etching method is known, and many apparatuses therefor have been put into practical use.

For example, a method of forming a deposited film using a plasma CVD method, that is, a method of forming a deposited film by generating plasma of a raw material gas by glow discharge of high frequency power and depositing its decomposition species on a substrate is known. is there. When this method is used, it is possible to form an amorphous silicon thin film by using silane gas as a source gas, for example. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-310181 discloses a plasma CVD method using a high frequency power in the VHF band, which has a high deposition film formation rate and can obtain a high-quality deposition film. The outline of the method of forming an amorphous silicon thin film by the plasma CVD method will be described below by taking an example of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member using amorphous silicon as a base material.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus for forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member using a plasma CVD method using amorphous silicon as a base material. FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 4B is a transverse sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

This device has at least a cylindrical substrate 101.
A vacuum processing apparatus 100 having a depressurizable reaction container 102 capable of containing a gas, a gas pipe 103 for supplying a raw material gas into the reaction container 102, and a high frequency electrode 104 for introducing electric power for decomposing the raw material gas. A gas supply system (not shown) that supplies the raw material gas into the reaction container 102, an exhaust system (not shown) that exhausts the inside of the reaction container 102, and a power supply system 105 that supplies power to the high-frequency electrode 104. .

Next, a method of forming a deposited film using the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

First, the cylindrical substrate 101 is installed on a substrate support 106 having a heater (not shown) in the reaction vessel 102, and the inside of the reaction vessel 102 is desired by an exhaust system (not shown) connected to an exhaust port 107. Evacuate to the vacuum level. After exhaustion is completed, an inert gas (for example, Ar gas) is supplied into the reaction vessel 102 at a predetermined flow rate by a gas supply system (not shown). Then, the inside of the reaction vessel 102 is controlled to have a desired pressure by adjusting the exhaust speed. After setting the internal pressure of the reaction container 102 to a desired pressure, the cylindrical substrate 101 is heated to a desired temperature by a heater (not shown) built in the substrate support 106. The cylindrical substrate 101 continues to be kept at a desired temperature necessary for forming the deposited film even during the formation of the deposited film.

After the heating process is completed by the above procedure,
Subsequently, a deposited film forming step is performed. First, the Ar gas in the reaction container 102 is exhausted by an exhaust system (not shown) to set the pressure in the reaction container 102 to 0.1 Pa, for example. Subsequently, by a gas supply system (not shown), SiH ₄ , H ₂ ,
Raw material gases such as B ₂ H ₆ , PH ₃ , CH ₄ , and NO are supplied into the reaction vessel 102 at a predetermined flow rate. The internal pressure of the reaction vessel 102 is controlled to a desired pressure by adjusting the exhaust speed of the exhaust system. When the internal pressure of the reaction vessel 102 becomes stable, power is supplied from the high-frequency power source 108 to each high-frequency electrode 104 via the matching box 109 to cause glow discharge in the reaction vessel 102. This discharge energy decomposes the raw material gas introduced into the reaction vessel 102 to form a predetermined deposited film on the cylindrical substrate 101. When the deposited film reaches the desired film thickness,
Stop the power supply applied to the high-frequency electrode 104,
The formation of the deposited film is completed by stopping the supply of the source gas.

During the formation of the deposited film, the rotating shaft 110 is rotated by the motor 111 via the reduction gear 112, and the cylindrical substrate 101 is rotated at a predetermined speed.
A deposited film is uniformly formed on the entire surface of the cylindrical substrate 101.

By repeating the same operation a plurality of times in succession, it becomes possible to form a deposited film having a multilayer structure.

By the above-described deposited film forming method, as shown in FIG. 2, an electrophotographic photosensitive member is formed on the substrate 201 by depositing the charge injection blocking layer 202, the photoconductive layer 203 and the surface layer 204 in this order. It

[0012]

With the above apparatus and method, it is possible to form a deposited film that achieves both an improved deposition film formation rate and a higher quality deposition film. However, the demand level of the market for products is increasing day by day, and a vacuum processing method, a deposited film forming method, and an apparatus capable of producing higher quality products are required. For example, in the case of electrophotographic photoconductors, in digital electrophotographic devices and color electrophotographic devices, which have been remarkably widespread in recent years, not only text originals but also photos are frequently copied. There is a growing demand for the above, and reduction of image density unevenness is strongly demanded more than ever before. Therefore, not only is the quality of the deposited film improved, but it is required to form a deposited film having a more uniform film thickness and film quality on a large-area substrate than ever before. In addition, demands for cost reduction are becoming more and more stringent, and it is necessary to improve the deposition film formation speed after realizing the high quality deposition film and the uniform film thickness and film quality as described above. Is also needed.

However, when the deposited film is formed by using the conventional method and apparatus by using the high frequency power in the VHF band, the film thickness of the deposited film in the in-plane direction of the substrate varies due to the nonuniformity of the plasma processing characteristics peculiar to VHF. Even if it is uniform, the film quality becomes non-uniform, and as a result, in a relatively large-area substrate to be treated such as an electrophotographic photoreceptor, characteristic unevenness that may be a practical problem may occur. It was

The cause of making such processing characteristics non-uniform is that when high-frequency power is applied to the high-frequency electrode for plasma generation, the high-frequency power is repeatedly reflected at the ends of the electrode, and as a result, the high-frequency power remains stationary on the electrode. It is presumed that this is because "fushi", which is a part where the high-frequency power is partially weakened, and "hara", which is a part where the high-frequency power is partially strong, are formed due to the formation of waves. Further, when the high frequency power in the VHF band is used, the high frequency power easily propagates to a conductive member (for example, a base body) constituting the device, and the propagated high frequency power also forms a standing wave in each member. It is expected that they also cause the non-uniformity of processing characteristics.

To solve these problems, by changing the size and impedance of the electrode or by changing the impedance of the substrate supporting means for mounting the substrate, the formation of standing waves in the electrode and the device is avoided to some extent. It has become possible to obtain uniform processing characteristics at a certain level. However, VH
When high-frequency power with a high frequency such as the F band is used, the wavelength of the standing wave formed in the plasma becomes almost the same as or slightly shorter than the practical size of the electrode or substrate used. Experimentally,
For this reason, a plurality of "fushi" are formed on the electrodes, the substrate, etc., and it may be difficult to completely eliminate them.
Further, as described above, it may be difficult to completely eliminate all of them because high frequency power may propagate to all the conductive members of the device to form standing waves. . Therefore, some non-uniformity in processing characteristics may occur. For example, in the case of an electrophotographic photosensitive member, such non-uniformity in processing characteristics is at a level that causes almost no problem in the conventional electrophotographic process. In order to realize the required high image quality, it is necessary to further improve the uniformity.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve vacuum processing characteristics, in particular, to vacuum-process an object to be processed having a large area extremely uniformly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum processing apparatus and a vacuum processing method capable of reducing the vacuum processing cost.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention comprises an object support means for installing an object in a depressurizable reaction vessel, and the inside of the reaction vessel. A gas supply means for introducing a source gas into the reaction vessel, an exhaust means for exhausting the reaction vessel, and a high frequency for introducing a high frequency power that excites the source gas introduced into the reaction vessel to generate plasma in the reaction space. In a vacuum processing apparatus that includes a power introducing unit and performs a process on the object to be processed, the power introducing unit is supplied from a plurality of high-frequency power supplies that supply high-frequency power of different frequencies, and the plurality of high-frequency power supplies. A plurality of high-frequency electrodes for introducing high-frequency power into the reaction space, and the high-frequency power supplied from each of the plurality of high-frequency power sources are introduced in a combined state,
And a power branching unit that distributes the combined high-frequency power to each of the plurality of high-frequency electrodes, and the power branching unit is formed in a flat plate shape.

First, it is considered that standing waves having a plurality of wavelengths are formed in the apparatus (for example, the high frequency electrode) by first combining a plurality of high frequency powers having different frequencies and then applying the high frequency powers to the high frequency electrode. As a result, in the standing wave of a certain wavelength, the portion corresponding to "Fushi" has the amplitude of the standing waves of the other wavelengths, and as a result, the standing waves of the plurality of wavelengths are superposed, It is considered that the unevenness of the high frequency power due to the specific standing wave is reduced.

Next, when a vacuum treatment is applied to an object having a large area, it is necessary to generate plasma in a wide range, and in order to improve the uniformity, the above-mentioned overlapping is performed. Distributing the high-frequency power to the plurality of high-frequency electrodes and introducing the high-frequency power from the plurality of high-frequency electrodes into the reaction container is effective in improving the uniformity of vacuum processing.

The inventors of the present invention have adopted a plurality of high frequency electrodes as a form of a vacuum processing apparatus capable of performing stable and uniform vacuum processing on an object to be processed having a larger area under a wider range of plasma processing conditions. As a result of proceeding with a study on a vacuum processing apparatus using, after combining a plurality of high frequency powers once,
It was found that, when the high-frequency power is distributed to the plurality of high-frequency electrodes, the high-frequency power is more evenly distributed to the respective high-frequency electrodes due to the shape of the power branching means, and more stable processing can be performed.

In the present invention, the power branching means is
The area of the plane portion is equal to or larger than the area of the smallest convex polygon that can include all connection points with the plurality of high frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means, and the plurality of high frequency waves connected to the power branching means It is preferable that the area is 1.21 times or less than the area of the smallest circle that can include all connection points with the electrodes.

Although this factor is not clear, in order to efficiently and evenly distribute the power over a plurality of frequencies, that is, in a wide frequency range, the shape of the power branching means for suppressing the impedance mismatch as much as possible is pursued. By setting the area range of the power branching means to be equal to or more than the above lower limit value, it becomes possible to stably transmit the high frequency power. Further, if the above upper limit is exceeded, an extra transmission path may be generated, which may cause a slight deviation in the balance of the device to impair the distribution balance to each high-frequency electrode, or the power branching means may be unnecessarily excessive. If the area is too large, the transmission path between the feeding point and the high frequency power connection point becomes long, and it is necessary to consider the attenuation of the high frequency power by the transmission path on the power branching means. Guessed. Therefore, the area of the power branching means is preferably within the above range.

The thickness of the power branching means is 0.2 to 10% of the diameter of the smallest circle that can include all connection points with the plurality of high frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means. It is preferable to have a certain configuration.

Since high-frequency power propagates on the surface of the conductor, the thickness of the power branching means is smaller than the area of the power branching means and the shape of the power branching means at a certain thickness.
It does not significantly affect the distribution of high frequency power. Therefore, the thickness of the power branching means is not particularly limited as long as it has a thickness capable of propagating high frequency power. However, if the thickness of the power branching means becomes thicker than necessary compared to the area of the power branching means, transmission in the thickness direction of the power branching means cannot be ignored. Therefore, the thickness of the power branching means is set to 10% or less of the diameter of the smallest circle that can include a connection point with a plurality of high-frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means,
It is preferable to shorten the transmission distance from the feeding point to the connection point with the high frequency electrode.

On the other hand, when a relatively high output high frequency power is applied to the power branching means, Joule heat is generated by the resistance of the power branching means. There is a case where the electric power branching unit is deformed by the heat cycle due to the repeated vacuum processing. Once the power branching means is deformed,
The matching by the impedance matching circuit is not reproduced, and as a result, vacuum processing with high reproducibility becomes difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the mechanical and thermal strength by giving the power branching means a certain thickness.
From the above, the power branching means has a diameter of the minimum circle of 0.2 to 0.2 that can include the connection points of all the high frequency electrodes to be connected.
The thickness is preferably 10%.

Further, it is preferable that the electric power branching means is constructed such that at least one of aluminum, stainless steel, copper and brass is a main material.

Furthermore, the surface of the power branching means may be coated with gold or silver.

Further, it is preferable that a power feeding point to which the synthesized high frequency power is supplied is provided substantially in the center of the power branching means. By providing the power feeding point at the center of the power branching means in this way, it is presumed that the propagation of the high frequency power on the power branching means becomes isotropic and stable.

Further, it is effective for making the vacuum processing characteristics uniform that the power branching means is formed in a circular shape or a regular polygonal shape centering on the feeding point. That is,
The more symmetrical the shape of the power branching means with respect to the high-frequency power feeding point, the more stably the high-frequency power propagates from the feeding point, resulting in more uniform power distribution to each high-frequency electrode. It is presumed to be something.

Further, it is preferable that the plurality of high frequency electrodes are connected to the power branching means at equal intervals on the same circumference centered on the feeding point. By connecting each high-frequency electrode on the same circumference centered on the feeding point in this way, the distance between the connection point of each high-frequency electrode and the feeding point becomes equal, and the distance from the feeding point to each high-frequency electrode becomes equal. It is presumed that the impedance of the transmission path becomes equivalent and the distribution uniformity of the high frequency power to each high frequency electrode is improved. Further, by making the intervals between the high frequency electrodes equal, the uniformity of the power density radiated to the reaction container is improved.

The power introducing means further includes impedance matching means for matching impedances of the high frequency powers respectively supplied from the plurality of high frequency power supplies, and after matching the impedances of the respective high frequency powers, the impedance matching means is provided. It is preferably configured to combine high frequency power.

Furthermore, the impedance auxiliary matching means is connected between the power branching means and each of the high-frequency electrodes, whereby the uniformity and stability of vacuum processing immediately after plasma generation is further improved. For example, when the high-frequency electrode is installed in the plasma space, the impedance of the high-frequency electrode viewed from the connection point between the power branching means and the high-frequency electrode is easily affected by the plasma characteristics, so that the impedance of the high-frequency electrode is reduced to some extent. By inserting the capacitor after branching and maintaining the impedance at a certain level or more, the power distribution is likely to be uniform immediately after plasma generation, and the uniformity of vacuum processing characteristics can be improved.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the impedance auxiliary matching means comprises a capacitor whose capacitance does not change. As the impedance auxiliary matching means,
It is possible to properly perform the phase adjustment by using an impedance variable LC circuit or a variable or fixed C component, but in consideration of easy handling, a configuration using only a capacitor having a fixed capacitance is used. preferable.

The effects of the present invention can be more remarkably obtained by forming each of the high-frequency electrodes in a rod shape. In such a high-frequency electrode having a shape that can be treated substantially as one-dimensional, since the high-frequency power does not substantially sneak in the lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction, the It is presumed that the effect of the present invention can be obtained more remarkably, since no static standing wave is generated.

At least a part of the reaction vessel is made of a dielectric member, and the high-frequency electrodes are provided outside the reaction vessel, thereby further improving the uniformity of vacuum processing characteristics. Can be improved. This is because even if some electric field distribution remains on the high-frequency electrode, the dielectric is placed between the high-frequency electrode and the plasma generation space, and the potential of the high-frequency electrode slightly changes due to the buffering action of this dielectric. This is because it is considered that the distribution is reduced and the uniformity is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, more remarkable effects can be obtained when the object to be processed is formed in a cylindrical shape. It is presumed that this is because when the object to be processed has a cylindrical shape, the reflection ends of the high frequency power on the object to be processed are limited to both ends of the object to be processed. As a result, the electric field strength at the antinode position of the standing wave is higher than when there are many reflection edges and many standing waves corresponding to it are generated, and the nodes of the standing wave generated by the power of other frequencies are It is presumed that it becomes possible to effectively supplement the position, that is, the portion where the electric field strength is low.

Further, it is preferable that a plurality of the objects to be treated are installed in the reaction container on the same circumference concentric with the center of the reaction container at equal intervals. It is presumed that this is because by making the positional relationship among the object to be processed, the reaction container and the high frequency electrode as symmetrical as possible, the processing uniformity for each object to be processed is improved. In this case, each high-frequency electrode and gas supply means also
A more remarkable effect can be obtained by arranging them at equal intervals on each of the circles concentric with the center of the reaction container.

Further, in this case, the gas supply means is arranged substantially in the center of the reaction vessel, whereby a sufficiently uniform vacuum treatment can be performed. This is because the uniformity of the vacuum processing characteristics is improved by the configuration of the present invention, without controlling the gas distribution in the reaction vessel using a plurality of gas introduction pipes as in the conventional case,
This is because it is possible to ensure the desired uniformity. For the material of the gas supply means, it is preferable to use a non-conductive member such as alumina so as not to affect the electrolytic distribution in the discharge space, but these materials are expensive and require careful handling. Is. Therefore, reducing the number of gas supply means is effective in reducing the apparatus cost and improving the maintainability.

Further, in the vacuum processing method of the present invention, an object to be processed is placed in a reaction vessel, a raw material gas is introduced into the reaction vessel, and at least two high frequency powers having different frequencies are supplied to a plurality of high frequency electrodes. By a high-frequency power introduced into the reaction vessel from each of the high-frequency electrodes to excite the raw material gas introduced into the reaction vessel to generate plasma and process the object to be treated by vacuum treatment. In the method, the at least two high-frequency powers are combined, and the combined high-frequency powers are distributed and supplied to the respective high-frequency electrodes via power branching means formed in a flat plate shape. To do.

When high frequency powers of different frequencies are applied to different high frequency electrodes, a standing wave having a wavelength depending on the frequency of the applied high frequency power is likely to occur in each high frequency electrode. As a result, the plasma characteristics near the high-frequency electrode tend to have a distribution shape according to this standing wave, and the types and ratios of generated active species and the energy of the ions incident on the electrode differ depending on the position. The structure of the film attached to the member near the upper and / or high-frequency electrode may be different depending on the standing wave on the electrode. Therefore, due to the difference in internal stress from the film structure itself or the neighboring film, a part where the attached film is easily peeled off, and the peeled film is easily attached to the object to be processed to cause a defect. It may become. In the present invention, in order to avoid such a problem, a plurality of high frequency powers having different frequencies are combined and then applied to the high frequency electrode. By doing so, the generation of standing waves is suppressed even on the high-frequency electrode.

Further, the plurality of high frequency powers include at least two high frequency powers having a frequency of 10 MHz or more and 250 MHz or less, and the highest power value and the next highest power value among the power values of the high frequency powers within the frequency range. When the frequency of the high frequency power having a higher frequency is f1 and the power value is P1 and the frequency of the high frequency power having a lower frequency is f2 and the power value is P2, the power value P1, It is preferable that P2 has a configuration satisfying the condition of 0.1 ≦ P2 / (P1 + P2) ≦ 0.9.

In the present invention, the number and type of frequencies of the high frequency power to be used and the ratio of the power values thereof are not particularly limited as long as the standing wave suppressing effect is obtained, but they are constant. It has been experimentally clarified that a remarkable standing wave suppression effect appears when high frequency powers in the frequency range are combined at a constant power value ratio. In particular, the two high frequency powers above the reference power value are It is desirable that the power balance between them be appropriately set in the frequency range where a high deposition rate can be expected. Further, as long as the ranges are satisfied, the effects of the present invention can be sufficiently obtained by combining high-frequency powers of two different frequencies.

Specifically, when the frequencies of the two high-frequency powers above the reference power value become extremely high, the attenuation in the traveling direction of the power becomes remarkable, and the attenuation rate of the high-frequency powers of other different frequencies becomes higher. The frequency may be 250 MHz or less, because the deviation may be significant and the sufficient standing wave suppressing effect may not be obtained. Further, when the frequency of the high frequency power is extremely low, it may be unfavorable in terms of the deposition film formation rate. Therefore, the frequency of the high frequency power is 10 MHz.
It is more preferably z or more.

Furthermore, the relationship between the two high-frequency powers (P1 and P2) whose reference power values are high is 0.1 ≦ P2.
It is more preferable that /(P1+P2)≦0.9 is satisfied. The cause is not clear, but it is presumed that if the ratio of one high-frequency power becomes extremely small, it approaches that when the other high-frequency power is used alone, and the standing wave suppressing effect becomes small.

Further, the reference power value is in the top 2
In addition to the two high-frequency powers, by stacking additional high-frequency powers with appropriate frequencies and power values, it is possible to further enhance the standing wave suppression effect or obtain other effects (eg, bias effect). Is. The range of the additional high-frequency power is not particularly limited as long as the high-order two high-frequency powers of the reference power value are set in an appropriate range, but it can be considered as follows.

Additional high frequency power (power value P3, frequency f
Frequency f3 of 3) is 10 MHz or more and 250 MH
When it is in the range of z or less, the same mechanism as in the case of combining two reference high frequency powers can be expected. In this case, if the reference high-frequency power is set to an appropriate range for the high-order two high-frequency powers and P3 is smaller than the high-frequency powers of the reference high-frequency powers, matching mismatch due to the additional high-frequency power occurs. Since it is difficult and the effect of suppressing the standing wave by the additional high frequency power is added, "unevenness" may be suppressed more than in the case of combining two high frequency powers, which is preferable.

On the other hand, for example, to obtain a bias effect,
Even when the frequency f3 is out of the range of 10 MHz to 250 MHz, it can be used without any problem as long as the high-frequency powers with the two highest reference power values are appropriately set within the range of the present invention.

Further, in the present invention, the power ratio of each high frequency power may be changed during the processing of the object to be processed. In particular, when performing vacuum processing on the same object for a long time, as the vacuum processing progresses, the high frequency power is increased due to factors such as film deposition on the surface of the high frequency electrode and the surface of the member supporting the object to be processed. The optimum condition of the power ratio of changes. Further, in the case of a laminated device forming a plurality of layer regions,
Since the required function differs depending on the layer region, the composition of the layer region inevitably differs, and therefore the optimum condition of the power ratio of the high-frequency power that achieves both uniformity and film quality varies depending on the layer region. For this reason, it is preferable to change the power ratio of a plurality of high-frequency powers having different frequencies during the vacuum processing as necessary in order to improve the vacuum processing characteristics.

In addition, it is preferable that the high frequency powers are combined by impedance matching means, the high frequency powers are combined, and the combined high frequency powers are supplied to the power branching means.

As the method of supplying the superimposed high frequency power in the present invention, in addition to the above method, for example, one high frequency power source capable of supplying the power obtained by combining the high frequency powers of different frequencies is used. It is also possible to supply electric power via one impedance matching means. It is also possible to output high-frequency power of a plurality of different frequencies from a plurality of high-frequency power supplies, respectively, and combine the output high-frequency powers via impedance matching means to supply power. However, it is preferable from the viewpoint of output stability that the high frequency powers are impedance-matched and then combined and supplied as in the present invention.

An impedance auxiliary matching circuit may be connected between the power branching means and each of the high frequency electrodes.

In this case, it is preferable to use a capacitor whose capacitance does not change as the impedance auxiliary matching circuit.

Further, according to the present invention, the effect of the present invention can be particularly remarkably obtained by adopting a constitution in which the treatment of the object to be treated comprises forming a deposited film on the surface of the object to be treated. Is. In the present invention, since the electric field distribution is made uniform in the entire region of the reaction container including on the high-frequency electrode, local changes in the film structure are effectively suppressed over the entire region where film adhesion occurs. As a result, film peeling due to local changes in internal stress is effectively suppressed,
Defects on the object to be processed caused by the peeled film adhering to the object to be processed are significantly reduced.

Furthermore, the present invention is more effective when the deposited film is a deposited film for an electrophotographic photoreceptor. It is necessary to form a large-area deposited film to manufacture an electrophotographic photoreceptor,
Furthermore, it is necessary that there is no structural defect over the entire area. On the other hand, in the production of an electrophotographic photosensitive member, since a deposited film having a thickness of several tens of μm is generally formed, a large amount of a film adheres to the wall surface of the reaction container, and the film adhered to the wall surface is likely to peel off. Furthermore, when a structural defect occurs, in an electrophotographic photosensitive member, like other devices, it is not possible to treat only the portion where the structural defect exists as a defect and the other region as a non-defective product. The entire deposited film formed becomes defective. Therefore, in the production of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the influence on the cost when structural defects occur is very high, and effectively suppressing the structural defects by the present invention is extremely effective in reducing the production cost. Target.

[0055]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an amorphous silicon photoconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 (b).
FIG. 4B is a transverse sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

The apparatus of the present embodiment has a cylindrical reaction container 3
An exhaust pipe 307 is integrally formed on the bottom surface of 02, and the other end of the exhaust pipe 307 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown). At the center of the reaction vessel 302, a single cylindrical substrate 301 on which a deposited film is formed is placed on a substrate support 306.

Further, the power supply system 305 is provided with two high frequency power sources 308 and 317 and matching boxes 309 and 318. Different frequencies f supplied from the high frequency power sources 308 and 317, respectively.
The high frequency powers of 1 and f2 are the matching boxes 309,
After being synthesized through 318, it is supplied to a feeding point 314 provided on a power branching plate 313 described below and distributed to each high-frequency electrode 304 as a high-frequency electrode. It is being introduced.

During the formation of the deposited film, the rotation shaft 310 is rotated by the motor 311 via the reduction gear 312 to rotate the cylindrical substrate 301 at a predetermined speed.
The deposited film is formed uniformly over the entire surface of the cylindrical substrate 301.

Since the other structure of the vacuum processing apparatus 300 of this embodiment is the same as the structure shown in FIG. 1A, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The above-described power branching plate 313 is electrically insulated from the shield 315 by being fixed to the reaction vessel 302 via an insulator (not shown) inside the shield 315 that substantially confines the electromagnetic wave. It is installed in a closed state. Therefore, a part of the power branching plate 313 may be fixed by a supporting member made of ceramics or a resin material, or the shield 315 may be filled with an insulating material. As a specific configuration thereof, for example, the shield 315 and the power branching plate 313 are used.
It is conceivable to fill the space between them with ceramics or a resin material, or to support the power branching plate 313 with a fixing member made of these substances. Note that when the space inside the shield 315 is not filled with these substances, the remaining space may be kept in a vacuum or may be an air atmosphere. However, in such a case, it is necessary to keep the distance between the shield 315 and the power branching plate 313 at an appropriate distance. Specifically, the distance between the shield 315 and the power branching plate 313 depends on the amount of high-frequency power used, but when the high-frequency power is about several kW, it may be several c.
It may be held at about m.

FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic sectional view taken along the line BB 'of FIG. 3 (a).

The power branch plate 313 is composed of a flat plate-shaped convex polygonal conductive plate. The area of the power branch plate 313 is equal to or larger than the minimum area that can include the connection point 316 where the high frequency electrode 304 is connected to the electrode branch plate 313, and the connection point where the high frequency electrode 304 is connected to the electrode branch plate 313. It is preferable that the area is 1.21 times or less than the minimum circular area that can include 316. Here, the convex polygon means a polygon having no interior angle of 180 ° or more.

Further, the thickness of the power branch plate 313 is 0.about. The diameter of the smallest circle that can include the connection point of the high frequency electrode 304.
It is preferable to set the thickness in the range of 2 to 10%.

The material of the power branching plate 313 is not particularly limited as long as it is a metal, but considering mechanical strength, thermal strength, workability, workability at the time of manufacturing the device, device cost, etc., Aluminum, stainless steel, copper, brass, or an alloy containing these as main materials is preferable. Furthermore, it is preferable to coat the surface of the power branching plate 313 with silver or gold.

The shape of the power branching plate 313 is preferably a shape having high symmetry.
As shown in (a), it is formed in a circle centered on the feeding point 314. Of course, the shape of the power branch plate 313 may be a regular polygon. In the case of a regular polygon, the shape of the power branch plate 313 is determined by the number and arrangement of the high frequency electrodes 304 connected to the power branch plate 313. It is desirable to do. For example, when N high frequency electrodes 304 are connected at equal intervals around the feeding point 314, n × N
It is effective to make a regular polygon with a polygon (n is a natural number),
In the present embodiment in which four high frequency electrodes 304 are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference, n × quadrilateral (n is a natural number)
It is effective to

Further, the power branching plate 313 and the high frequency electrode 30
4 and the connection configuration between the power supply system 305 and the power distribution plate 313 are not particularly limited as long as they are in sufficient electrical contact, and a connection configuration in which they are crimped with a screw or a fitting type The connection configuration may be used, or may be a configuration by welding such as soldering or brazing. However, considering the maintainability of the device, it is desirable that these connections be performed by crimping connection by screwing or by fitting type connection.

The shape of the high-frequency electrode 304 is as follows.
There is no particular limitation, but in order to obtain a more remarkable effect of uniforming the vacuum processing characteristics, the rod shape as shown in FIG. 3 is preferable, and the film attached to the high-frequency electrode 304 is formed during the film formation process. From the viewpoint of preventing peeling off, it is preferable to have a curved surface as much as possible, and it is particularly preferable to have a cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape.

Further, the high frequency electrode 304 is connected to the reaction container 302.
In the case of the configuration of the present embodiment installed inside, the surface of the high-frequency electrode 304 is roughened for the purpose of improving the adhesion of the film, preventing film peeling, and suppressing dust during film formation. It is desirable that As a specific degree of the roughening, a range of 5 μm or more and 200 μm or less in 10-point average roughness (Rz) based on 2.5 mm is preferable.

Further, from the viewpoint of improving the adhesion of the film, it is effective that the surface of the high frequency electrode 304 is covered with a ceramic material. The specific means of coating is not particularly limited, but the coating can be performed by a surface coating method such as a CVD method or thermal spraying. Among the coating methods, thermal spraying is preferable because it is less costly or less likely to be restricted by the size or shape of the object to be coated. Specific ceramic materials include alumina, titanium dioxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, zircon, cordierite, zircon-cordierite,
Examples thereof include silicon oxide and beryllium oxide mica-based ceramics. The thickness of the ceramic material that covers the surface of the high-frequency electrode 304 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably 1 μm to 10 mm in order to increase durability and uniformity, and also in terms of the amount of high-frequency power absorbed and the manufacturing cost, 10 μm to 10 μm 5 mm is more preferable. Alternatively, the ceramic cover processed to have the above surface roughness may be used for the high frequency electrode 304.

Further, by providing the high-frequency electrode 304 with a heating means or a cooling means, the adhesion of the film on the surface of the cathode electrode 304 can be further enhanced and the film peeling can be prevented more effectively. In this case, whether to heat or cool the high frequency electrode 304 is appropriately determined according to the film material to be deposited and the deposition conditions. The specific heating means is not particularly limited as long as it is a heating element. Specifically, by a wound heater of a sheath-shaped heater, an electric resistance heating element such as a plate heater or a ceramic heater, a heat radiation lamp heating element such as a halogen lamp or an infrared lamp, or a heat exchange means using liquid or gas as a medium. Examples include heating elements. The specific cooling means is not particularly limited as long as it is a heat absorber. For example, a cooling coil, a cooling plate, a cooling cylinder, and the like, which can flow a liquid, a gas, or the like as a cooling medium, can be used.

Furthermore, in order to improve the vacuum processing stability in the initial stage of discharge, the power branching plate 313 and each high frequency electrode 304 may be connected via a capacitor (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an apparatus for manufacturing an amorphous silicon photoconductor according to a second embodiment of the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof and FIG.
FIG. 4B is a transverse sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

In this embodiment, the power supply system 405.
In addition, two high-frequency power sources 408 and 417 and matching boxes 409 and 418 are provided, and the high-frequency power of different frequencies f1 and f2 supplied from the high-frequency power sources 408 and 417, respectively, is supplied to the matching box 4.
09, 418, and after being combined, the power branching plate 413
Is supplied to a feeding point 414 provided in the reaction vessel 402.
It is adapted to be introduced into the reaction container 402 from a plurality of high-frequency electrodes 404 installed outside.

In order to efficiently introduce the high-frequency power emitted from the high-frequency electrode 404 into the reaction container 402, the side wall of the cylindrical reaction container 402 is made of a dielectric ceramics. Specific examples of ceramic materials include alumina, titanium dioxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, zircon, cordierite, zircon-cordierite, silicon oxide, and beryllium oxide mica ceramics. Of these, the reaction container 40 is used in view of suppression of contamination of impurities during vacuum processing, heat resistance, and the like.
Alumina, aluminum nitride, or boron nitride is preferably used for the material of the side wall of 2.

Further, the vacuum processing apparatus 400 shown in FIG.
Is configured such that six cylindrical substrates 401 are installed in the reaction container 402 on the same circumference at equal intervals. Also,
Gas introduction pipe 403 for introducing gas into the reaction vessel 402
6 are installed at equal intervals on the same circumference outside the arrangement circle of the cylindrical substrate 401.

The power branching plate 413 of the vacuum processing apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 5 has a regular hexagonal shape as shown in FIG. 6 (a). In the case of the present embodiment, the power branching plate 413 may of course be circular or n × hexagonal (n is a natural number).

Further, in order to improve the vacuum processing stability in the initial stage of discharge, the power branching plate 413 and each high frequency electrode 404 may be connected via a capacitor (not shown).

Since the other structure of the device of this embodiment is the same as the corresponding structure of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the outline of the deposited film forming process using the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 will be described by taking the case of using the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 as an example.

First, each substrate support 4 in the reaction vessel 402
A cylindrical substrate 401 is installed in each of the chambers 06, and the inside of the reaction container 402 is exhausted through an exhaust pipe by an exhaust device (not shown). Then, a heater (not shown) is controlled to heat the cylindrical substrate 401 to a predetermined temperature of about 200 ° C to 300 ° C.

Next, when the temperature of the cylindrical substrate 401 reaches a predetermined temperature, the raw material gas is introduced into the reaction vessel 402 from a raw material gas supply means (not shown). After confirming that the flow rate of the raw material gas is the set flow rate and the pressure inside the reaction vessel 402 is stable, two high frequency powers are supplied from the high frequency power sources 408 and 417 to the high frequency electrode 404 through the matching boxes 409 and 418. To do. At this time, when the frequencies and powers of the high frequency powers supplied from the high frequency power supplies 408 and 417 are f1, f2 and P1, P2, respectively, f1, f2 and P1, P2 are 10 MHz ≦ f2 <f1 ≦ 250 MHz. The power supply system 405 is controlled so as to satisfy the relationship of 1 ≦ P2 / (P1 + P2) ≦ 0.9. As a result, high-frequency power of two different frequencies is introduced into the reaction container 402, glow discharge occurs in the reaction container 402, the raw material gas is excited and dissociated, and the cylindrical substrate 4 is discharged.
A deposited film is formed on 01.

The high frequency power supplied to the high frequency electrode 404 is not limited to this, and further high frequency power may be supplied. However, in this case, the power value P1,
P2 needs to be the largest power value and the next largest power value among the power values of the high frequency power within the above frequency range of the high frequency power supplied to the high frequency electrode 404. .

After the desired film thickness is formed, the supply of high frequency power is stopped, and then the supply of the source gas is stopped to complete the formation of the deposited film. By repeating the same operation a plurality of times, a desired multi-layered light receiving layer is formed on the substrate 401.

During the formation of the deposited film, the rotation shaft 410 is rotated by the motor 411 through the reduction gear 412, and the cylindrical substrate 401 is rotated at a predetermined speed.
A deposited film is uniformly formed over the entire surface of the cylindrical substrate 401.

[0086]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

(First Example) <Example 1a> Using the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a diameter of 80 m was obtained.
On a cylindrical substrate 301 made of a cylindrical aluminum cylinder having a length of 358 mm and a length of 358 mm, an electrophotographic photosensitive member using amorphous silicon having a constitution shown in FIG. 2 as a base material was prepared under the conditions for forming a deposited film shown in Table 1. did. In addition, this Example 1a
Then, as the power branching portion 313, as shown in FIG. 4A, a radius of 120 mm made of an aluminum alloy of material A5052,
A circular one having a thickness of 5 mm was used. Then, a feeding point 314 was provided at the center thereof, and four electrodes 304 having an outer diameter of 18 mm and a length of 900 mm were connected to the circumference of a circle having a radius of 110 mm from the center at intervals of 90 degrees. In such a configuration, at the feeding point 314 of the power branching plate 313, the oscillation frequency 105M
The high frequency power supplied from the high frequency power source 308 of Hz and the high frequency power source 317 of the oscillation frequency of 60 MHz is applied through the matching boxes 309 and 318, and each high frequency electrode 3 is applied.
A high frequency power was emitted from 04 to generate plasma of a source gas in the reaction vessel 302, and a deposited film was formed on the substrate 301.

[0088]

[Table 1]

<Embodiment 1b> In the present embodiment 1b, the power branching plate 313 has an area 1.21 times as large as the minimum circle area that can include all the connection points 316 with the high frequency electrodes shown in FIG. 4A. did. The shape of the power branching plate 313 at this time is circular. Except for this, the deposited film was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1a.

<Example 1c> In Example 1c, the power branching plate 313 was a square having the smallest area capable of including all the connection points 316 with the high frequency electrode as shown in FIG. 4B. Except for this, the deposited film was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1a.

[Comparative Example 1a] As a comparative example with respect to each of the above-described examples, in the present comparative example 1a, the power branching plate 313 has a shape shown in FIG. 4 (c). The power branching plate 313 of Comparative Example 1a has a shape in which branches are radially extended from the position of the feeding point 314, which is the center of the branching plate 313, toward each connection point 316 at 90 degree intervals. Each branch of the power distribution board 313 has a width of 2
The length from the center to the connection point 316 is 120 mm, which is 0 mm and the thickness is 5 mm. Except for this, the deposited film was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1a.

[Comparative Example 1b] In this comparative example, as shown in FIG. 4 (d), the power splitter plate 313 has a minimum area that can include all the connection points 316 with the high-frequency electrodes shown in FIG. 4 (b). Changed the shape of each square into a constricted shape. Figure 4
The area of the power branch plate 313 shown in (d) was 0.8 times the area of the power branch plate 313 shown in FIG. 4 (b). Except for this, the deposited film was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1a.

[Comparative Example 1c] In this comparative example, the power branch plate 313 was formed into a circular shape having an area 1.4 times that of the power branch plate shown in FIG. 4 (a). Except for this, the deposited film was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1a.

For each of the above-mentioned Examples and Comparative Examples, one electrophotographic photosensitive member per lot was prepared for 5 lots, and the following method was used by using a Canon copying machine NP-6750. Each item was evaluated. In addition,
The copier used for the evaluation uses an image exposure light source with a wavelength of 655 nm.
The pre-exposure light source has a wavelength of 660
The LED light source has been changed to nm.

-Uniformity and Reproducibility of Charging Ability-The dark portion potential at the developing device position is measured when a constant current is applied to the main charger of the copying machine. As for the uniformity of charging ability,
The fluctuation range of the dark portion potential (circular unevenness of the dark portion potential) when the electrophotographic photosensitive member made one round was evaluated. The smaller the fluctuation range, the better the uniformity. As the reproducibility of the charging ability, the standard deviation of the dark area potential in the electrophotographic photoreceptors of 5 lots was evaluated. The smaller the standard deviation, the better the reproducibility.

-Uniformity and Reproducibility of Sensitivity-After adjusting the main charger current so that the dark part potential at the developing device position of the copying machine becomes a constant value, a constant light amount of image exposure is applied to the developing device. Measure the light potential at the location. As the uniformity of sensitivity, the fluctuation range of the bright portion potential (circular unevenness of the bright portion potential) when the electrophotographic photosensitive member makes one round was evaluated. The smaller the fluctuation range, the better the uniformity. As the reproducibility of sensitivity, the standard deviation of the light potential in the electrophotographic photoreceptors of 5 lots was evaluated. The smaller the standard deviation, the better the reproducibility.

The evaluation criteria are as follows. The uniformity and reproducibility of each are based on those of Comparative Example 1a, and in the case of improvement by 30% or more, A, 20% or more to 3
The case where the improvement was less than 0% was B, the case where the improvement was 10% or more and less than 20% was C, and the case where the improvement was 0 to less than 10% was D.

The results are shown in Table 2. It was confirmed that the electrophotographic photoconductors produced in this example were all better than the electrophotographic photoconductors produced in the comparative examples. .

[0099]

[Table 2]

(Second Embodiment) Using the apparatus shown in FIG.
The cylinder substrate support 306 is changed to a sample substrate support capable of supporting a glass substrate, and as a substrate to be processed,
Eight pieces of 2.54 × 3.81 cm (1 × 1.5 inch) polished glass (# 7059 manufactured by Corning Incorporated) were installed in the circumferential direction at the axial center position of the sample substrate support. The power branch plate 313 has the above-mentioned first
The same as that used in Example 1a in the above Example was used. Then, under the conditions shown in Table 3, amorphous silicon carbide (hereinafter referred to as “a-SiC”) was formed on the glass substrate.
Is written. ) Sample was prepared.

[0101]

[Table 3]

Separately from this, in the apparatus of FIG. 3, the circular electrode branch plate 313 and each high-frequency electrode 304 are connected to the capacitor 1
A sample of a-SiC was produced on a glass substrate under the same conditions as above, using a configuration in which a connection was made via a 00 pF capacitor.

The composition ratio of the prepared a-SiC sample was evaluated by an X-ray photoelectron analyzer (ESCA), and the variation of the composition ratio in the circumferential direction of the substrate support was determined by comparing the composition ratio of the eight samples prepared at the same time. It was evaluated based on the standard deviation of. As a result, the electrode branch plate 313 and each high-frequency electrode 3
It was confirmed that the a-SiC sample manufactured by the configuration in which 04 and 04 were connected via a capacitor was improved in unevenness of the composition ratio in the circumferential direction by about 20%, which was more favorable.

(Third Embodiment) In this embodiment, using the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, a cylindrical substrate 401 made of a cylindrical aluminum cylinder having a diameter of 80 mm and a length of 358 mm is used.
Under the conditions for forming the deposited film shown in Table 4, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having amorphous silicon as a base material shown in FIG. 2 was produced.

[0105]

[Table 4]

In the deposited film forming apparatus used in this embodiment, the side wall of the reaction vessel 402 is composed of a dielectric member made of alumina ceramics, and the six high frequency electrodes installed outside the reaction vessel 402. By applying high-frequency power to 404, plasma is generated in the reaction container 402, and a deposited film is formed on the cylindrical substrate 401 installed in the reaction container 402. Further, in the reaction vessel 402, six cylindrical substrates 401 are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference, and six gas introduction pipes 403 are arranged outside the circumference where the cylindrical substrates 401 are arranged. It was arranged to introduce the raw material gas into the reaction vessel 402. Furthermore, the matching boxes 409, 4 generate the respective high-frequency powers oscillated from the high-frequency power source 408 having an oscillation frequency of 200 MHz and the high-frequency power source 417 having an oscillation frequency of 105 MHz.
It is configured such that the voltage is simultaneously applied to the power feeding point 414 of the power branching plate 413 via 18. Further, when forming a deposited film on the cylindrical substrate 401, each substrate support 406 was rotated at the speed shown in Table 4.

The power branching plate 413 is made of A50 material.
52 mm aluminum alloy, 250 mm on a side, 5 mm thick
The regular hexagonal type was used (see FIG. 6A). Also,
A high-frequency electrode 404 having an outer diameter of 18 mm and a length of 900 mm,
They were arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a radius of 240 mm from the center of the power branching plate 413 at intervals of 60 degrees.

As a comparative example to this, the power distribution plate 4
13 has a shape in which branch portions radially extend from the position of the feeding point 414, which is the center thereof, toward each connection point 416 at intervals of 60 degrees (see FIG. 6B). Each branch portion of the power branching plate 413 is formed to have a width of 20 mm, a length from the center of 250 mm, and a thickness of 5 mm. Other than that, the electrophotographic photosensitive member was formed under the same conditions as in this example with respect to the apparatus configuration and film forming conditions.

For each of the present embodiment and the comparative example, 6 electrophotographic photosensitive members were manufactured for 5 lots per 1 lot, and the copying machine NP-6750 manufactured by Canon was used.
Each item was evaluated by the method shown below. In the copying machine used for evaluation, the image exposure light source was changed to a semiconductor laser light source having a wavelength of 655 nm, and the pre-exposure light source was changed to an LED light source having a wavelength of 660 nm.

-Uniformity / Reproducibility of Charging Ability-The dark area potential at the developing device position when a constant current was applied to the main charger of the copying machine was measured, and the average value in the circumferential direction was taken as the charging ability. As for the uniformity of the charging ability, the variation of the charging ability was evaluated for the six electrophotographic photoconductors produced at the same time in this example and the comparative example. The smaller the variation in the charging ability of each electrophotographic photosensitive member, the more improved the uniformity. As the reproducibility of the charging ability, the average value of the sensitivity of the electrophotographic photoconductors prepared each time was used, and the standard deviation of the dark potential in the electrophotographic photoconductors of 5 lots was evaluated. The smaller the standard deviation, the better the reproducibility.

-Sensitivity Uniformity / Reproducibility-After adjusting the main charger current so that the dark part potential at the developing device position of the copying machine becomes a constant value, a constant light amount of image exposure is applied to the developing device. The light potential at the position was measured, and the average value in the circumferential direction was used as the sensitivity. Regarding the uniformity of sensitivity, variations in sensitivity were evaluated for six electrophotographic photoconductors that were simultaneously produced in this example and the comparative example. The smaller the variation in the sensitivity of each electrophotographic photosensitive member, the more improved the uniformity. As the reproducibility of sensitivity, the average value of the sensitivity of the electrophotographic photosensitive member produced each time was used, and the standard deviation of the light portion potential in the electrophotographic photosensitive member of 5 lots was evaluated.
The smaller the standard deviation, the better the reproducibility.

As a result, the electrophotographic photosensitive member of this embodiment is
Compared to the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the comparative example, the charging ability and the uniformity of sensitivity were both improved by 20 to 30%, and the reproducibility of the charging ability and sensitivity were both improved by 10 to 20%. It was confirmed that it was better than the photographic photoreceptor.

(Fourth Example) In this example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was manufactured using the apparatus shown in FIG. Figure 7
7A is a vertical cross-sectional view of the device according to the present embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is different from the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 in that only one gas pipe 504 is arranged at the central position of the reaction vessel 502. Other than that, the electrophotographic photosensitive member was manufactured under the same conditions as those of the third embodiment except for the apparatus configuration and the film forming conditions.

The electrophotographic photosensitive member thus obtained was evaluated in the same manner as in the third example. As a result, good results were obtained similarly to the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the third example. That is, it was confirmed that the electrophotographic photoconductor of this example can obtain the same uniformity and reproducibility as the electrophotographic photoconductor of the third example as compared with the comparative example of the third example. Was done.

(Fifth Embodiment) In the present embodiment, the device shown in FIG. 5 is used, and the diameter is 80 m as in the third embodiment.
On a cylindrical substrate 401 made of a cylindrical aluminum cylinder having a length of m and a length of 358 mm, the electrophotographic photosensitive member using amorphous silicon as a base material shown in FIG. 2 was prepared under the same deposition film forming conditions as shown in Table 4. However, in this embodiment, 2
The oscillation frequency of each of the two high frequency power sources 408 and 417 is 80
MHz and 50 MHz, plus an oscillation frequency of 300k
Further high frequency power is applied from the high frequency power source (not shown) of Hz to the feeding point 414 of the power branching plate 413 via the matching box (not shown). Then, from the high frequency power source (not shown), 100 at the time of forming the charge injection blocking layer.
W, 150 W when the photoconductive layer is formed, 1 when the surface layer is formed
A high frequency power of 00 W was applied to each to manufacture an electrophotographic photosensitive member.

When the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated in the same manner as in the third example, good results were obtained as in the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the third example. That is, it was confirmed that the electrophotographic photoconductor of this example can obtain the same uniformity and reproducibility as the electrophotographic photoconductor of the third example as compared with the comparative example of the third example. Was done.

[0118]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By setting the object to be treated in the reaction container, introducing the raw material gas into the reaction container, and supplying at least two high-frequency powers having different frequencies to a plurality of high-frequency electrodes, respectively, the high-frequency electrodes cause the inside of the reaction container to move. When the raw material gas introduced into the reaction vessel is excited by the high-frequency power introduced into the chamber to generate plasma and the object to be treated is processed, at least two high-frequency powers are combined and formed into a flat shape. Since the high-frequency electrodes are distributed and supplied via the electric power branching means, the uniformity and reproducibility of the vacuum processing characteristics are improved, and the productivity can be improved. As a result, it becomes possible to stably produce a semiconductor device, an electrophotographic photoreceptor, and the like having excellent characteristics at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus for forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member using amorphous silicon as a base material using a plasma CVD method.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a layer structure of an electrophotographic photoreceptor.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of an amorphous silicon photoconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing various shapes of a power distribution board used in the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of an amorphous silicon photoconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing various shapes of a power distribution board used in the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a photoconductor manufacturing apparatus used in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 300, 400, 500 Vacuum processing apparatus 101, 301, 401, 501 Cylindrical substrate 102, 302, 402, 502 Reaction vessel 103, 303, 403, 503 Gas introduction tube 104, 304, 404, 504 High frequency electrode 105, 305, 405, 505 High-frequency power supply system 106, 306, 406, 506 Substrate support 107, 307, 407, 507 Exhaust pipe 108, 308, 317, 408, 417, 508, 5
17 High frequency power sources 109, 309, 318, 409, 418, 509, 5
18 Matching Box 110, 310, 410, 510 Rotating Shaft 111, 311, 411, 511 Motor 112, 312, 412, 512 Reduction Gear 113, 313, 413, 513 Power Dividing Section 314, 414, Feeding Point 115, 315, 415 , 515 Shields 316, 416, Connection point 201 Base 202 Charge injection blocking layer 203 Photoconductive layer 204 Surface layer 205 Charge injection blocking layer change region 206 Surface layer change region

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Daisuke Tazawa             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation (72) Inventor Kazutaka Akiyama             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation F-term (reference) 2H068 DA25 DA26 DA27 DA28 EA24                       EA36                 4K030 BA30 FA03 JA16 JA18 KA14                       KA15 KA46 KA47 LA17                 5F045 AA08 AB04 AC01 AC19 AE15                       AE17 AF10 BB01 BB08 CA16                       DA52 DA65 EH15 EH19

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. An object-to-be-processed supporting means for installing an object to be processed in a depressurizable reaction vessel, a gas supply means for introducing a raw material gas into the reaction vessel, and an exhaust means for exhausting the reaction vessel. And a high-frequency power introduction unit that introduces high-frequency power that excites a raw material gas introduced into the reaction container into the reaction space to generate high-frequency power in the reaction space, and in a vacuum processing apparatus that processes the object to be processed. The power introduction means includes a plurality of high-frequency power supplies that supply high-frequency power of different frequencies, a plurality of high-frequency electrodes that introduce high-frequency power supplied from the plurality of high-frequency power supplies into the reaction space, and a plurality of the plurality of high-frequency electrodes. A high-frequency power supplied from a high-frequency power source is introduced in a combined state, and the combined high-frequency power is distributed to each of the plurality of high-frequency electrodes. The vacuum processing apparatus said power branching means, characterized in that it is formed in a flat plate shape. 2. The area of the plane portion of the power branching means is
The connection point with the plurality of high frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means is equal to or larger than the area of the smallest convex polygon that can include all the connection points with the plurality of high frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means. The area is 1.21 times or less than the area of the smallest circle that can be included,
The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The thickness of the power branching means is 0.2 to 10% of the diameter of the smallest circle that can include all connection points with the plurality of high frequency electrodes connected to the power branching means. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and brass is a main material of the power branching unit. 5. The surface of the power branching means is coated with gold or silver.
The vacuum processing apparatus according to the item. 6. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a power feeding point to which the combined high frequency power is supplied is provided substantially at the center of the power branching unit. 7. The power branching means is formed in a circular shape or a regular polygon centered on the feeding point.
The vacuum processing apparatus according to. 8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of high frequency electrodes are connected to the power branching means at equal intervals on the same circumference centered on the feeding point. 9. The power introducing means further includes impedance matching means for matching impedances of the high frequency powers respectively supplied from the plurality of high frequency power sources, and after matching the impedances of the respective high frequency powers, the impedance matching means is provided. Configured to combine high frequency power,
The vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8. 10. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an impedance auxiliary matching circuit is connected between the power branching means and each of the high frequency electrodes. 11. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the impedance auxiliary matching circuit includes a capacitor whose capacitance does not change. 12. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the high frequency electrodes is formed in a rod shape. 13. The reaction container according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the reaction container is made of a dielectric member, and the high-frequency electrodes are installed outside the reaction container. Vacuum processing equipment. 14. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be processed is formed in a cylindrical shape. 15. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of the objects to be processed are installed in the reaction container on the same circumference concentric with the center of the reaction container at equal intervals. 16. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the gas supply unit is arranged substantially in the center of the reaction container. 17. An object to be treated is placed in a reaction vessel, a raw material gas is introduced into the reaction vessel, and a plurality of high frequency powers having different frequencies are supplied to a plurality of high frequency electrodes, respectively. In the vacuum processing method of processing the object to be processed by exciting the source gas introduced into the reaction vessel by the high-frequency power introduced into the reaction vessel from the high-frequency electrode to generate plasma, the plurality of high-frequency powers A vacuum processing method comprising synthesizing and distributing the synthesized high frequency power to each of the high frequency electrodes through a power branching unit formed in a flat plate shape. 18. The plurality of high frequency powers has a frequency of 10.
Of the high frequency power having the highest power value and the next highest power value among the power values of the high frequency power within the frequency range, the higher frequency power is included. When the frequency of the high frequency power is f1, the power value is P1, and the frequency of the lower frequency high frequency power is f2 and the power value is P2, the power values P1 and P2 are 0.1 ≦ P2 / (P1 + P2) The vacuum processing method according to claim 17, wherein the condition of ≦ 0.9 is satisfied. 19. The vacuum processing method according to claim 17, wherein the power ratio of each of the high frequency powers is changed during processing of the object to be processed. 20. The high-frequency powers are combined by impedance matching means, and then the high-frequency powers are combined, and the combined high-frequency powers are supplied to the power branching means. The vacuum processing method according to claim 1. 21. The vacuum processing method according to claim 17, wherein an impedance auxiliary matching circuit is connected between the power branching means and each of the high frequency electrodes. 22. The vacuum processing method according to claim 21, wherein a capacitor whose capacity does not change is used as said impedance auxiliary matching circuit. 23. The vacuum processing method according to claim 17, wherein the processing of the object to be processed comprises forming a deposited film on the surface of the object to be processed. 24. The vacuum processing method according to claim 23, wherein the deposited film is a deposited film for an electrophotographic photoreceptor.